Hydroponics RSS Feed from 783 ABC Alice Springshttp://www.abc.net.au/local/topics/alicesprings/rural/hydroponics/rss.xml
Hydroponics RSS Feed from 783 ABC Alice Springs2010, Australian Broadcasting Corporationen-au15Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:11:00 +1100Hydroponic garden keeping remote workers healthyhttp://www.abc.net.au/rural/nt/content/201011/s3073158.htm?site=alicesprings&source=rss
We all know the importance of eating two fruit and five vegetables every day.
However, when you live in a remote community a few hundred kilometres from the nearest town, how can you get the fresh produce you require?
Out by Arlparra, about 250 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs, local Ernie Polley has found an easy solution.
He and wife Kerry Kasmira have set up their own hydroponic vegetable garden in a small tin shed out the back of their house.
Mr Polley says the initial idea came from when they lived in, what he described as, an "even more remote" community than Arlparra.
"We hit upon the idea of having a vegie garden and that became hard work.
"I read an article about hydroponics and how it was so allegedly easy and it really is."
He says he was surprised to find out how many different vegetables he could successfully grow using hydroponics.
"We've got some basil...we got parsley, chives, silverbeet, tomato, beetroot.
"We've successfully grown carrots, beans, peas, the salad vegies...and all your herbs, of course."Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:11:00 +1100\xmlcontent\201011\3073158.xml783 ABC Alice SpringsalicespringsHealth:Diet and Nutrition:AllRural:All:AllRural:Agricultural Crops:HerbsRural:Agricultural Crops:VegetablesRural:Hydroponics:AllAustralia:NT:Alice Springs 0870Bumper season for vegetables, but demand still outstrips supplyhttp://www.abc.net.au/rural/nt/content/201008/s2981255.htm?site=alicesprings&source=rss
Territorians can't seem to get enough of their leafy green vegetables.
Despite great growing conditions in central Australia, demand for the region's lettuces are outstripping supply.
Steve Douglas is the manager of Territory Lettuce, a hydroponic vegetable farm, close to Alice Springs.
He says he just can't grow enough lettuces to meet the demand of wholesalers in town.
"Darwin just love their lettuce."
However, frosty weather conditions in Alice Springs has slowed the lettuces' growth, with it taking around eight weeks for a crop, from seeding to harvesting.
The farm is currently operating at full capacity with workers cutting, cleaning and replanting lettuces on a daily basis.
Mr Douglas believes the demand for hydroponic lettuce is great enough for the farm to be able to double its planting capacity.
"We could put another whole system in and keep that full as well."Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:46:00 +1000\xmlcontent\201008\2981255.xml783 ABC Alice SpringsalicespringsRural:All:AllRural:Agricultural Crops:VegetablesRural:Hydroponics:AllAustralia:NT:Alice Springs 0870Using fish poo to grow vegetableshttp://www.abc.net.au/rural/nt/content/201008/s2980113.htm?site=alicesprings&source=rss
Imagine if you could have a vegetable patch and a fish farm side by side, without having to pay for the water and chemicals for both.
That's the idea behind "aquaponics", a combination of both aquaculture and hydroponics in a more environmentally friendly and cost effective way.
While it might sound like something you would hear about in a science fiction novel, the idea has been around since the 1960s.
So how does it work?
Steve Patman, an aquaponics enthusiast says its about recycling water from the fish tanks to use in the garden, then back into the fish tank again.
"The water is laden with all the fish nutrient, through both their breath and their [waste].
"All that is then pumped into the grow beds, and these grow beds are just basically bathtubs that are filled with gravel.
"We just plant straight into the gravel.
"The nutrients from the water feed the plant, then the plants look after filtering the water, and that's great for the fish as well."
Mr Patman says he has been able to grow a very good winter crop of tomatoes, silverbeet, parsley and cauliflower, thanks to aquaponics.
He says aquaponics systems are not expensive, with a system for an average backyard costing about $2000.Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:00:00 +1000\xmlcontent\201008\2980113.xml783 ABC Alice SpringsalicespringsRural:All:AllRural:Fishing, Aquaculture:AllRural:Hydroponics:AllAustralia:NT:Alice Springs 0870NT Country Hour podcast 22/04/2010http://www.abc.net.au/rural/nt/content/201004/s2880287.htm?site=alicesprings&source=rss
Its an industry that is blooming to such an extent that Australia's largest retailer is moving in for a piece of the action. Where is the nursery and garden industry heading?Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:23:00 +1000\xmlcontent\201004\2880287.xml783 ABC Alice SpringsalicespringsdarwinkatherineEnvironment:All:AllEnvironment:Environmental Management:AllRural:All:AllRural:Fertilisers:AllRural:Hydroponics:AllRural:Irrigation:AllRural:Rural Media:AllEnvironment:Environmental Impact:AllEnvironment:Water Management:AllAustralia:NT:Alice Springs 0870Australia:NT:Darwin 0800Australia:NT:Katherine 0850NT Country Hour 22/04/2010NT Country Hour 22/04/2010Lorna Perry